


Heritage

by LittleTurtle95



Series: “Lost Book of the White” Countdown Event [8]
Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Character Study, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Father-Son Relationship, M/M, Magic, Pillow Talk, Rings, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:06:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26173921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleTurtle95/pseuds/LittleTurtle95
Summary: Last Book of the White countdown event.Day eight: homeliness.Max wakes up in the middle of the night. Their parents are still awake and hiding something from them, and he wants to find out what it is. Rafael doesn't think this is a good idea.
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood & Max Lightwood-Bane & Rafael Lightwood-Bane, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: “Lost Book of the White” Countdown Event [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890529
Comments: 15
Kudos: 112





	Heritage

**Author's Note:**

> The kids are aged up in this one, it's set in the future when Rafe had been with them for five years. Rafe is 10/11 and Max is 7/8 yo.

“Rafe, wake up,” a voice whispered. “Come on, Rafe. Wake up!”

The boy squeezed his eyes and grunted, rolling on the other side of the bed. Something touched his leg and he immediately jolted awake. 

“By the Angel!” he hissed, jumping up and holding blindly the first thing he found next to his bed ready to use it as a weapon.

He was still blinking his sleepiness off his eyes when he heard a faint snort.

“What do you want, bluebell?” he asked groaning, recognising the vague blue shape of Max in front of him. “It’s the middle of the night.”

Light blue flames started to float in the room and he finally saw the unimpressed look in his brother’s eyes and what he was holding to threaten the unexpected opponent with. 

“Yeah, that’s your water bottle. Not your finest shadowhunter moment, you’ll have to admit.”

Rafael groaned again, too many groans in such a short amount of time, and threw the bottle on his bed with a grunt.

“It’s ‘cause dad doesn’t let me sleep with my whip, or you’d already have your hand chopped off. You can’t just wake a shadowhunter in his sleep like that.”

“You’re right, it was _so_ scary! My knees are all weak, see?” the boy grinned.

Rafael pouted. “That’s why you woke me up? Because you wanted to mock my perfectly good reflexes?”

“No,” Max whispered, his expression suddenly serious, “I woke you up because I heard dad and bapak are still awake. They’re doing something and we have to find out what it is.”

Rafael’s face went blank. “No!” he hissed. “We should go back to bed instead. I’m sure it’s nothing important.”

“Come on, I know you’re curious as well!” Max said, his blue eyes shining in curiosity.

“I’m really not. You can’t just walk in their bedroom without a warning. You never know what you’re going to find.”

“Well, what is the worst we could find anyway?”

“Something that you really _don’t_ want to see. Trust me.”

“Really? And what would it be? I’m listening,” Max asked, skepticism in his voice. 

“Something I can’t tell you because you’re too little to know! I don’t even want to think aba-”

Max frowned. “Well, I am going, you do what you want,” he said, then went out of the room leaving the door open behind him.

“No, no, no, bluebell, wait!” Rafe called, running to join him. 

Max started running as well and in no time he arrived at Magnus and Alec’s bedroom door. Rafael jumped to stop him and they both stumbled on the door, slamming it open and falling on the floor.

Rafael immediately covered Max’s eyes with both hands and squeezed his shut. 

Magnus yelped in surprise, his magic stopped shining in the room all of a sudden and Alec took the seraph blade he always had on his bedside table, ready to fight. 

As soon as he saw who the intruders were, he put it back with a huff. “What are you two doing up this late?”

His voice didn’t sound awkward, so Rafael opened tentatively one eye. 

His parents were sitting on the bed, fully clothed like they never went to sleep in the first place, and on the blankets between them there were some objects Rafael didn’t recognise, still sparkling from Magnus’ magic.

“Thank the angel,” he sighed in relief, finally releasing Max’s eyes. 

As soon as he was free, Max pushed him on the side with a huff. “You’re so weird.”

“It’s Max’s fault! I didn’t want to come!” Rafel said, with his typical stern annoyed voice.

“You’re hiding something from us,” Max pouted, crossing his arms and glaring at them. “I just want to know what it is!”

Alec and Magnus exchanged an amused look. Alec nodded.

“Fine,” said Magnus, patting his hand on the bed. “We just finished… _something_. We wanted to wait for tomorrow for this, but now that you’re both here…”

Rafael stepped closer, Max tentatively following him a few steps behind. 

When they finally saw what was on the bed they both gasped. 

Two silver rings, flames carved on the metal, and a capital _L_ on the front. 

Lightwood rings. 

“Do you know what these are?” Alec asked carefully, with a smile. 

“Family rings,” Rafael said, calm. “Every shadowhunter has those.”

Max frowned slightly and bit his lower lip at the choice of words.

“Every shadowhunter _family,”_ added Magnus, showing them the one he had on his left hand. 

“Tomorrow will be five years since we’ve had Rafael with us,” explained Alec, “we wanted to celebrate with something special. And these are very special.”

“There’s a bit of dad in them,” said Magnus, “there’s his childhood in Idris, his angel blood, there’s Maryse, there’s Robert. And there’s a little bit of me too.”

“Of you?” Rafael asked.

Max’s lips curled up in a small smile. “I feel it.”

“There’s Magnus’ magic, yes,” Alec said, fidgeting with his ring as he spoke. That too had magic in it and they both knew that.

“Everything he could think of to make sure you two come back home to us safe and sound every day. Protection spells against dark magic, deflection spells for arrows and blades, magic to guide your weapons and powers. There’s your father’s love in them.”

“ _Our_ love,” Magnus said, with a small smile. “And you can’t give the rings to anyone, ever. Unless…”

Alec smirked. “Well, it’s too soon to talk about that now. But when the moment will come, the moment you’ll want to give it away, you’ll know.”

Rafael frowned. “I don’t want to give it away. It’s for the family.”

“Families become bigger,” Magnus said.

“Well, I like ours like it is now.”

Alec shook his head with an amused smile. “So, do you want to try it or not?”

 _“YES!”_ both kids shouted, both jumping on the bed to get to the rings faster. 

“Wow, wow, be careful, they’re not going anywhere!” Magnus laughed, watching as the boys got on the bed. 

Rafael was the first to take one but just before he put it on his own finger he stopped, pensive.

“Wait,” he told Max, grabbing his shoulder.

The boy, who had just taken his ring as well, froze and looked at his brother patiently. 

“Let me,” Rafe said, and instead of keeping the ring he chose he looked at Max waiting for him to offer his hand.

Max smiled, his round blue face lit up with happiness as Rafael carefully took his hand in his and put the ring on his finger with a deep focused expression. 

Alec heard Magnus take a sharp breath in and touched his hand, letting their fingers brush on the mattress. 

The first weeks and months he’d been with them he had been distant and reserved, like he was afraid it wasn’t going to last so he didn’t want to invest his feelings in it in the first place not to get hurt. He had been stern with Alec, skeptical with Max and hesitant with Magnus for a long time, never making the first step, and they had all loved him anyway, waiting for him patiently with open arms. 

Now he was looking at Max with his new Lightwood ring, the Lightwood ring soaked in Magnus’ magic, everything their family meant and represented, both their essences melted into one, and he had a solemn face, filled with pride and love.

Max beamed even more as he squeezed briefly the ring he had chosen a few moments before, then took Rafael’s hand and put it on his finger as well, silver shining bright under the light of Alec’s bedside lamp. 

Alec felt Magnus squeeze his hand and interlaced their fingers, their respective rings clicking slightly. 

“Family,” Rafael declared.

“Family,” Magnus nodded, “no matter what happens. Always.”

Alec scratched the back of Max’s head and the boy purred like a cat. “Sleepover?” he asked, his voice starting to get sleepy.

Alec looked hesitantly at Magnus. “What do you say?”

Rafael glanced his father a side look and grinned. “Sleepover!”

Magnus caressed Rafael’s cheek gently and whispered, “I think it’s a great idea.”

“Come on babies, get under the blankets, hop hop,” Alec said with a small smile. 

“We’re not babies, dad,” Rafael complained. “We’re grownups now.”

Alec laughed, loud and clear. “Well, then come on _men,_ get under the blankets. We all need a good night’s sleep.”

When both the kids were safely tucked in the middle of the bed, Max on Alec’s side and Rafe on Magnus’, they got in as well, Magnus pulling Rafael closer and studying Alec with his attentive eyes. 

On the other side of the bed, Alec kissed the top of Max’s head, right between the horns, already half asleep. 

Magnus sighed happily, a small smile on his lips. Every inch of his heart was in that bed with him, every part of his soul. The whole world could set on fire and everything would still be all right, as long as all the people on that bed were safe and sound.

He would have burned cities to make sure all of them were safe.

He felt Rafael stretch, the kid’s back pressed to his chest, then looked at Max already drooling on Alec’s pillow, the ringed hand under his head as he slept. 

Alec smiled at him with his breathtaking honest smile, the one meant only for Magnus to see, and winked. 

The sense of belonging nearly ripped his chest in half, exposing Magnus’ beating heart.

Every wound, every tear, every time life itself had stepped on his soul with his heels, _everything_ had been worth it, because everything had brought him to this moment.

He played with his own ring and kissed it, making sure Alec was watching him.

He was home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Max and Rafe deserve their Lightwood rings okay? And I wanted them to be like Alec's, with both their warlock heritage and shadowhunter heritage.  
> I'm love them 💙
> 
> Also, that’s what “home” and “homeliness” means, belonging and safety and I thought the rings were perfect to summarize this. 
> 
> For the next prompt I’m back again with something experimental, so stay tuned 😎


End file.
